A Visit to Town in Belize...
After a brief rest at the hotel, it was time to get out and see the town...
| Transportation here is by walking, or you can rent a golf cart pretty cheaply. Distances are very short. |  |
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Since the streets are just hard packed dirt, and can get narrow, even the coca-cola distributor relies on unconventional means of transportation, rather than a big truck. |
| Unlike the Internet, all the good names have not been used up in Ambergris Caye! That's my buddy Rich posing by the bakery. |
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Not sure what these kids are doing at the Church. There were lots of kids about, and there are several schools on the island. There's even a medical school that is affiliated with a US school back east. We met some students from there that seemed to be enjoying their "educational" experience! |
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We met lots of Americans and Canadians running around the island. Not too many Europeans, though. English is the most common tongue you'll hear spoken. This house is typical of what you can get cheaply. This island is still pretty primitive, so you wouldn't pay much for it. There seem to be a lot of Americans who've moved here and bought a small business to run. Our hotel owner is a retired dentist, for example. There seem to be a lot of what I would call young, healthy adventurers visiting the place. Since there isn't much to do here but the watersports, the older set doesn't seem to get here in as large numbers as elsewhere. Our friend and chief pilot Tim spends his time here bonefishing. Apparently the island is legendary for this pursuit. Like the scuba diving, bonefishing is pretty adversely affected by the winds, but he still manages to have a good time. The blue house below was the nicest house I saw on the island. It's owner does a downstairs business monitoring all the burglar alarms on the island. |
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What's this? An Internet Cafe in the middle of this primitive setting? My traveling friend Steve just couldn't stand it anymore--mailus interruptis. He had to stop in to read e-mail. This shop probably had the best air conditioning on the island, so it was a welcome relief from the afternoon heat. They had a full-service bar running there too. This is probably the business I would choose to open in my retirement, should I plan on inhabiting a primitive island paradise. Internet service was via modem, but tolerable for quick e-mail checks. There seemed to be no lack of business either. |
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And speaking of interruptis, yours truly had his own attack--mochus interruptis. I'd been away from Starbucks for way too long and was beginning to hallucinate. Imagine my pleasure at discovering this friendly establishment right next door to the hotel. It was here that we met our medical students as they wolfed down a scrumptious-looking lunch of Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches. The friendly cafe owner is a Canadian, but he looks more Arabic. He has some wonderful art photography on his walls that is quite intriguing. Alas, he has no notion of how to make a proper mocha. He served me what has to be the worst Cafe Mocha it has ever been my misfortune to consume. A pity, because I was prepared to accept a pretty mediocre offering and be happy. I believe he went wrong in his choice of chocolate. He used a sort of extract of chocolate in a light syrup, similar to what is used to add mint or hazelnut. Unfortunately, real chocolate tastes infinitely better. This was rather like the artificial taste of chocolate hard-candy. Also, despite the sign, the establishment is not air conditioned. Two strikes, so we did not return. The sandwiches looked good, however, and the med students assured us it was one of the best sandwich haunts in town. I developed a liking for having Tomato and Mozarella salads for lunch at the Italian restaraunt at our hotel. It was light and refreshing and seemed like the thing to do rather than eat a heavy lunch. |
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Stunning fashions may be obtained at the exclusive "Ashley's" boutique. |
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And, lest you be concerned about crime, there is a neighborhood watch in effect. The eyes are hypnotic, aren't they? The town also boasts numerous bars, a few decent restaurants, the usual gaggle of tourist souvenir and t-shirt shops, a couple of dance clubs, and a casino. We had occasion to visit most of these establishments as we could not scuba dive, and the island is pretty small. They are each amusing in a small town sort of way. One evening, we got to see a small soccer game being played in a little stadium. They were playing on asphalt with bare feet, which seemed a little rough to me. Don't lose too much money at the casino--the dealer is murder on the tourists. |
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